Unit I.

A FEW PRELIMINARIES IN ABSTRACT ALGEBRA

INTRODUCTION
 Abstract algebra (19th century) is the set of advanced topics of algebra that
deal with abstract algebraic structures rather than the usual number systems.
 Modern algebra, also called abstract algebra, is a branch
of mathematics concerned with the general algebraic structure of various sets
(such as real numbers, complex numbers, matrices, and vector spaces), rather
than rules and procedures for manipulating their individual elements.
 Vector Space – mathematical objects that abstractly capture the geometry and
algebra of linear equations (there are certain axioms that identify a set as vector
space). Commonly used in 3D objects

What can abstract algebra be used for?

 The main purpose of abstract algebra is analyzing a set endowed with one or
more operations with special characteristics or properties to learn about the
relationships between those properties of the operations in a precise way, as
well as the consequences and possible results of their associations.

What are algebraic structures?

 In abstract algebra, “structure” means a set or group with one or more
algebraic operations. These structures are classified according to the number
of operations that may exist in them, as well as by their characteristics, the
number of elements or subsets, and the relationship that exists among the
elements of the main set, regardless of their nature.

What is the difference between abstract algebra and elementary algebra?

While elementary and abstract algebra both respond to the same general
approaches to algebra, there are differences between them; for example, while
elementary algebra is based on solving simple algebraic equations, abstract
algebra looks at algebraic systems and structures or groups with different
operations. Elementary algebra studies real numbers and complex numbers, while
abstract algebra expresses mathematical structures that cannot necessarily be
expressed with numerical values.

SETS AND RELATIONS

Definition of Sets
Sets are represented as a collection of well-defined objects or elements and it
does not change from person to person. A set is represented by a capital letter. The
number of elements in the finite set is known as the cardinal number of a set.

What are the Elements of a Set?

Let us take an example:
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }
Since a set is usually represented by the capital letter. Thus, A is the set and 1, 2, 3, 4,
5 are the elements of the set or members of the set.

The elements that are written in the set can be in any order but cannot be repeated.
All the set elements are represented in small letter in case of alphabets. Also, we can
write it as 1 ∈ A, 2 ∈ A etc.
The cardinal number of the set is 5.
Some commonly used sets are as follows:
 N: Set of all natural numbers
 Z: Set of all integers
 Q: Set of all rational numbers
 R: Set of all real numbers
 Z+: Set of all positive integers
Order of Sets
The order of a set defines the number of elements a set is having. It describes the size
of a set. The order of set is also known as the cardinality.

Representation of Sets
The sets are represented in curly braces, {}. For example, {2,3,4} or {a,b,c}.
The elements in the sets are depicted in either the
Statement form,
Roster Form or
Set Builder Form.

Statement Form
In statement form, the well-defined descriptions of a member of a set are written and
enclosed in the curly brackets.
For example, the set of even numbers less than 15.
In statement form, it can be written as S = {even numbers less than 15}.

Roster Form
In Roster form, all the elements of a set are listed.
For example, the set of natural numbers less than 5.
Natural Number = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,……….
Natural Number less than 5 = 1, 2, 3, 4
Therefore, the set is N = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }

Set Builder Form

The general form is, A = { x : property }
Example: Write the following sets in set builder form: A={2, 4, 6, 8}
Solution:
2=2x1
4=2x2
6=2x3
8=2x4
So, the set builder form is A = {x: x=2n, n ∈ N and 1 ≤ n ≤ 4}
Also, Venn Diagrams are the simple and best way for visualized representation of sets.

Types of Sets

Empty Set
A set which does not contain any element is called an empty set or void set or null set. It
is denoted by { } or Ø.
A set of apples in the basket of grapes is an example of an empty set because in a
grapes basket there are no apples present.

Singleton Set
A set which contains a single element is called a singleton set.
Example: There is only one apple in a basket of grapes.

Finite set
A set which consists of a definite number of elements is called a finite set.
Example: A set of natural numbers up to 10.
A = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} or A = {x: n ∈ N and 1 ≤ n ≤ 10}

Infinite set
A set which is not finite is called an infinite set.
Example: A set of all natural numbers.
A = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9……}

Equivalent set
If the number of elements is the same for two different sets, then they are called
equivalent sets. The order of sets does not matter here. It is represented as:
n(A) = n(B)
where A and B are two different sets with the same number of elements.
Example: If A = {1,2,3,4} and B = {Red, Blue, Green, Black}
In set A, there are four elements and in set B also there are four elements. Therefore,
set A and set B are equivalent.

Equal sets
The two sets A and B are said to be equal if they have exactly the same elements, the
order of elements do not matter.
Example: A = {1,2,3,4} and B = {4,3,2,1}
A=B

Disjoint Sets
The two sets A and B are said to be disjoint if the set does not contain any common
element.
Example: Set A = {1,2,3,4} and set B = {5,6,7,8} are disjoint sets, because there is no
common element between them.

Subsets
A set „A‟ is said to be a subset of B if every element of A is also an element of B,
denoted as A ⊆ B. Even the null set is considered to be the subset of another set. In
general, a subset is a part of another set.
Example: A = {1,2,3}
Then {1,2} ⊆ A.
Similarly, other subsets of set A are: {1},{2},{3},{1,2},{2,3},{1,3},{1,2,3},{}.
Note: The set is also a subset of itself.
If A is not a subset of B, then it is denoted as A⊄B.
For any set A, A itself and Ø are both subsets of A

Proper Subset
If A ⊆ B and A ≠ B, then A is called the proper subset of B and it can be written as A⊂B.
Example: If A = {2,5,7} is a subset of B = {2,5,7} then it is not a proper subset of B =
{2,5,7}
But, A = {2,5} is a subset of B = {2,5,7} and is a proper subset also.

Superset
Set A is said to be the superset of B if all the elements of set B are the elements of set
A. It is represented as A ⊃ B.
For example, if set A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and set B = {1, 3, 4}, then set A is the superset of B.

Universal Set
A set which contains all the sets relevant to a certain condition is called the universal
set. It is the set of all possible values.
Example: If A = {1,2,3} and B {2,3,4,5}, then universal set here will be:
U = {1,2,3,4,5}

Operations on Sets
In set theory, the operations of the sets are carried when two or more sets combine to
form a single set under some of the given conditions. The basic operations on sets are:
 Union of sets
 Intersection of sets
 A complement of a set
 Cartesian product of sets – let A and B be sets. The set A X B = {(a,b) | a ∈ A
and b ∈ B} is the Cartesian Product of A and B
 Set difference

The Notion of a Set

We summarize briefly some of the things we shall simply assume about sets.
1. A set S is made up of elements, and if a is one of those elements, we shall
denote this fact that ∈
2. There is exactly one set with no elements. It is the empty set and is denoted by

3. We may describe a set either by giving a characterizing property of the elements

or by listing the elements
 4. A set is well defined, meaning that if S is a set and a is some object, then either
a is definitely in S, denoted by ∈ , or a is definitely not in S, denoted by

Relations between Sets

Cardinality
• The number of elements in a set X is the cardinality of X and is often denoted by
|X|.
 • Surjection (onto map) – a mathematical function or mapping for which every
element of the image space is a value for some members of the domain
Example 1: Given that the set A = {1, 2, 3}, set B = {4, 5} and let the function f =
{(1, 4),(2, 5),(3,5)}

• Injection (One-to-one map) / Injective Function – a mapping between two sets

such that the domain of the mapping consists of all the elements of the first set,
the range consists of some subset of the second set, and each element of the
first set is mapped to a different element of the second set
• Bijection (both One-to-one and onto map) – a function between the elements
of two sets, where each element of one set is paired with exactly one element of
the other set, and each element of the other set is paired with exactly one
element of the first set.

The word with the most meanings in English is the verb 'set', with 430 senses listed
in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1989.

Example: The function f : R→R where f(x) = x2 is not one-to-one (injection) because
f(2) = f(-2) = 4 but 2 -2. Also, it is not onto R (surjection) because the range is the
proper subset of all nonnegative numbers in R
INTEGERS
Topics Included:
1. Division Algorithm
2. Greatest common divisor and least common multiple
3. Primes

DIVISION ALGORITHM

Theorem 1: Well Ordering Principle

Every non-empty subset of N has the smallest number.

Theorem 2: Division Algorithm

Let n and d be integers. Then there exist unique integers q and r such that n =
dq+r, 0 r |d|, where q is the quotient and r is the remainder, and the absolute value of
is defined as:

Example 1. Find the q is the quotient and r is the remainder for the following values of n
and d.
1. n = 2018 and d = 343.
n = dq + r
2018 = 5(343) + 308
2. n = -2018 and d = 343.
n = dq + r
-2018 = -6(343) + 40
3. n = 2018 and d = -343.
n = dq + r
2018 = -5(-343) + 308
4. n = -2018 and d = -343.
n = dq + r
 -2018 = 6(-343) + 40

GREATEST COMMON DIVISOR (GCD) AND LEAST COMMON

MULTIPLE (LCM)

Definition: GREATEST COMMON DIVISOR

Let ∈ , where not both is zero.

Then, we say that an integer ∈ ., greatest common divisor if it satisfies
the following conditions:
1. d | a and d | b, Note: d must divide both numbers
2. If ∈ , c | a and c | b then . Note: is the greatest number divides both.
Thus, the greatest common divisor of two integers a and b, also known as GCD of a
and b, is the greatest positive integer that divides both the integers a and b. This class
will use the following notation: gcd(a,b).

Example 2. What is the gcd of 15 and 20?

A process to find the solution:
List all positive divisors of 15 and 20.
The positive divisors of 15 are 1, 3, 5, and 15.
The positive divisors of 20 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, and 20.
The common positive divisors are 1 and 5.
As you can see from the list the gcd of 15 and 20 is 5. That is, the gcd(15,20) = 5.
Example 3. An elementary gym teacher has grade gym classes with and students in
them. The teacher wants to order equipment that equal-sized groups can use in each
class. What is the largest group size that will work for all classes?
Solution:
You will need to find the GCD of all 3 classes.
Firstly, you will find the GCD of 21 and 35.
The positive divisors of 21 are 1, 3, 7, and 21.
The positive divisors of 35 are 1, 5, 7, and 35.
The GCD of 21 and 35 is 7.

Now, let's explore an algorithm for determining the GCD. The Euclidean
Algorithm, developed by the renowned Greek mathematician Euclid, is a highly effective
method for computing the GCD of two integers.
Example 4. Find GCD (2420, 230)

Bezout’s Identity
For integers a and b, let d be the greatest common divisor, d = GCD (a, b). Then
there exists integers x and y such that ax+by=d. Any integer that is of the form ax+by, is
a multiple of d.

Example 5. Write gcd as a linear combination. gcd(2071,31) = 2071x + 31y with x,y∈Z.
Solution: Steps are listed (a,b,c,d) for ease of reference to Bezout‟s algorithm
Example 6. Write gcd as a linear combination. gcd(3915,825) = 3915x + 825y with
x,y∈Z.

Solution: From the calculations below, gcd(3915,825) = 15

We will use the following tabular method:

Thus, gcd(3915,825) = 3915(−4)+825(20).

Example 7.
Let a,b ∈ Z \ {0} . Prove or disprove: d = ax + by for some x,y ∈ Z then gcd(a,b) = d .

Example 8.
Prove or disprove: If 1 = ax + by, then gcd(a,b) = 1.
 RELATIVELY PRIME

Definition: RELATIVELY PRIME

Two integers a and b are said to be relatively prime if gcd(a,b)=1.

Example 9.

Example 10.
Example 11.

Number of ∈ , Relatively Prime to

MULTIPLICATIVE INVERSE MODULO m

Example 12.

Example 13.

LEAST COMMON MULTIPLES

Definition: LEAST COMMON MULTIPLE
Let a and b be integers. Then any integer that is a multiple of both a and b is
called a common multiple of a and b. The least common multiple of integers a and b,
denoted by lcm(a,b), is the smallest positive common multiple of a and b.

Example 14.
Find:
 1.
2.
3.
Solution:
1.
2.
3.

FINDING LCM USING GCD

The least common multiple of integers a and b, also known as the LCM, is the
smallest number divisible by both integers a and b. You can determine the LCM by
dividing the absolute value of the product of a and b by the GCD of a and b.
That is

Example 15.

Properties:
PRIMES

Example 1. Method of Sieve of Eratosthenes

The following will provide us a way to decide given number is prime.

Theorem 1.
Theorem 2.

Example 2.

Example 3.
Is a prime number?
Answer: YES.

Theorem 3. PRIME DIVISIBILITY THEOREM

Theorem 4.
Theorem 5.

Definition: TWIN PRIMES

Two prime numbers are called twin primes if they differ by 2.

Theorem 6. FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF ARITHMETIC (FTA)

Neither the fundamental theorem nor the proof shows us how to find the prime factors.
We can use tests for divisibility to find prime factors whenever possible.

Example 4.